The little-known country of Suriname, until 1975 a colony named Dutch Guiana, is situated on the northern coast of South American. Jews were among its first European settlers, and during the 18th century the Sephardic Tzedek ve-Shalom synagogue was built in the capital city of Paramaribo. In the late 1990s, with the synagogue no longer in use, permission was granted to transfer its interior to the Israel Museum as a long-term loan. A specialized Museum team carefully dismantled the wooden furnishings-including a magnificent Torah ark and reader's platform-for transport to Jerusalem. Today the synagogue, with its original artifact inside, has been reconstructed in the Museum's Wing for Jewish Art and Life.
This publication explores the history of a distant Jewish community; tells the story of a beautiful synagogue, from its foundation to its transfer and restoration; and examines the style of the synagogue's architecture and splendid ceremonial objects.
2010* English * 112 pages * 75 color illustrations * hardcover * 29x21 *
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem